From: Tom Canby
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 9:55 AM
To: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin)
Subject: RE: A fresh inquiry for a fact-check
TASBO concurs with Joe Wisnoski’s overall comments and wishes to provide additional information and insights below.
Relevant information on this PolitiFact topic are found in the Texas Commission on Public School Finance presentation by the Texas Education Agency on February 8, 2018, School Finance Trends, showing state and local revenue sources in slide 7 excerpted below that I have summarized in the table below the chart.
Billions of Dollars | |||
Methods of Finance for the Foundation School Program (FSP) for the 2016-2017 and 2018-2019 Biennia | 2016-2017 Biennium | 2018-2019 Biennium | Increase/Decrease |
Lottery Proceeds | $2.4 | $2.6 | $0.2 |
Available School Fund & PSF | $2.8 | $3.5 | $0.7 |
Property Tax Relief Fund & Other | $3.0 | $3.6 | $0.6 |
State General Revenue & FSF | $31.2 | $29.4 | $1.8 |
Total State Sources | $39.4 | $39.1 | $0.3 |
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Local Property Tax Collections | $53.8 | $59.8 | $6.0 |
Appropriated Receipts (Recapture) | $3.8 | $4.6 | $0.8 |
Total Property Taxes | $57.6 | $64.4 | $6.8 |
Considering the average increase Texas public school student enrollment is 80 thousand students per school year, these summary figures clearly show how the General Appropriations Act reliance on property tax collections plus the expected $4.6 billion in recapture or an increase of $800 million in recapture for the biennium, to fund student enrollment growth during the 2018-2019 biennium. The projected increase in recapture of $800 million combined with the expected decrease of $300 million other revenue sources (excluding property taxes) does indicate a state-level public policy strategy that effectively allows the state to direct increased amounts of non-property tax revenue sources to fund the overall increase in the state of Texas’ budget for all non-public school related purposes from the 2016-2017 biennium to the 2018-2019 biennium.
Please let us know if you have additional questions.
Thanks,
Tom
Tom Canby | Associate Executive Director
Texas Association of School Business Officials